Invalid policy sold by Santam Ltd

We booked a flight from Johannesburg to Dubai and looked for travel insurance for this trip. We received a quote from Santam Ltd and it covered everything we needed even though it was a bit more expensive than other companies and as we have used Santam before, we decided it would be the best insurance to take.

However, when purchasing the insurance there was no information provided or stating that it was only valid if purchased within 48 hours of flight ticket. In March we needed to repurchase a new return ticket as lockdown was being implemented and in order to not be locked out of SA, we needed to buy a new ticket. Before doing so, we phoned the emergency line provided to enquire if we would be covered by the insurance for the cost of the ticket. The lady asked for our insurance reference number and then checked the policy, she then stated that we are definitely covered for this up to R20 000 and that we can go ahead and book a new ticket and claim back as it’s on a pay and claim basis.

Based on this information and confirmation from the insurance company we went ahead and booked the new ticket. After arriving back in Johannesburg we have been trying to claim from the insurance for over 4 months and they are still not willing to pay as they say we are not covered as the insurance was not purchased within 48 hours, despite this not being criteria in the initial booking (or we never would have purchased it) and apart from that, after a telephonic conversation with the insurance before purchasing the new ticket, we were advised that we would definitely be covered and now they are refusing to pay.

I would advise against using this insurance company as you are paying for a policy you can’t use.